Balancing Act
by DancesAmongstSquirrels
Summary: It was a precarious game they played, always a back and forth. If one got to close, the other would pull back, always finding balance.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Normal Life

* * *

Heat rolled off of the pavement in visible waves, making the air above the ground seem to quiver. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face and she wiped it away with the back of her free hand. The summer sun beat down mercilessly and not single breeze was present to stir the air. Why had she decided that walking to the grocery store in June was a good idea? The answer evaded her, naturally.

As she rounded the corner, her apartment building came into view and with it, the promise of air conditioning and a refreshing shower. Reaching into her back pocket, she fumbled for her keys, encountering some change and a receipt, but no keys.

"Wonderful," she whispered under her breathe.

If she didn't know herself better, sometimes she would begin to believe that perhaps she was actually a civilian. She certainly fumbled and forgot little things enough to forget that she was actually a Princess, an Amazonian Princess to boot. Oh and the whole super hero thing. You'd think that would offer some amount of exception from daily nuisances.

She shifted the brown bag from her left to her right arm, and search the other back pocket. No such luck.

 _"Alright, front pocket it is…"_ she thought to herself.

She placed the bag on the ground and plunged both hands into her two front pockets. Much to her relief, the rough edges of the pesky objects grazed her fingertips. Picking up her groceries again and opening the door the apartment complex, Diana let herself in. Instantly, a wave a cold air washed over her and as she closed the door behind her, the harsh rays of the sun were also blocked out.

Her steps echoed through the central stairwell and bounced off the fake marble walls. It was seven floors up to her apartment, and though she expended almost no energy climbing all seven, she couldn't help but wish in this instant that she could just fly up. But as of right now that was not an option. She was still relatively new to this apartment building, and didn't know the comings and goings, or how nosey her new neighbors were. Until then, she could not get away with any short cuts that could give away who she was.

Of course, it wasn't like she had a super secret identity like Clark or Bruce either. Since starting her work as an ambassador for Themyscira, she found it easier and more professional to use her first name. But she never appeared out of uniform to those meetings. Yet though she doubted anyone would recognize her without her uniform on, she went to great lengths to try and make herself as inconspicuous as possible when she wasn't fighting the bad guys or arguing with politicians. She preferred simple clothes in mostly neutral colors that did not draw attention. She also pulled her hair back in a ponytail, instead of letting the dark mass fall loose on her back. It wasn't much, but Great Hera, if Clark could hide the fact that he was super man with a pair of glasses and notepad and pen, then by the Gods she could blend in too.

With her "disguise" in place, she felt free. No journalists taking pictures or asking her questions. No astounded looks cast her way. She was free to go where she pleased and go about her business in peace. This had been the lifestyle she chose for herself after two years with the League, when not on duty of course. Those two years had offered her all the time in the spotlight she could have ever wanted, and now, she just wanted anonymity above else. Time where she didn't have to be Wonder Woman, she could just be Diana.

Arriving in front of her door and breaking from her reverie, she unlocked the door and pushed it open. The apartment itself wasn't much. It had simple, light gray walls, and light colored wood floors. The front door opened right into the main space of the apartment, which was a combination of living room, dining room and kitchen. Down a small hallway there was a bedroom, bathroom and a small guest bedroom/ office. It was sparsely furnished since she had had almost no time off from League work.

But grandeur wasn't what she had been looking for. What had attracted her to this place in particular were the windows, and the openness of the space. Two large bay windows took up almost the entire wall of the living room, letting in light and offering a wonderful view of the Central City skyline. And with no walls separating the kitchen from the living and dining area, it reminded her of Themyscira. There, her home had been full of wide open spaces which, in her mind, fostered a feeling of cohesiveness.

Closing the door behind her, she kicked off her sandals into the designated shoe corner by the door and made her way the kitchen to unpack her brown bag plunder. She placed the colorful fruit in a bowl on the small, granite topped island and began sorting through the rest. As she did so, she couldn't help but smirk a little. If only the public could see her now, the great Wonder Woman, who ate Frosted Flakes and Oreos just like them. She could just see the headline now.

Her smirk grew to a smile as she pictured her mother's face if she ever saw her daughter eating " that disgusting Man's World" food. In all honesty, though much less healthy, Diana could not imagine going back to her Amazonian diet of pure fruit, vegetables and rather bland meat. I mean, she had tasted Chinese! It had taken Wally and John ages to convince her, but once they had, it wasn't uncommon for her to indulge in a bi-weekly General Tso's.

Once everything was in order, her made her way to the sanctuary of her shower. That was another thing she was not immune to, sweat. Looking at her face in the mirror as she shed her rather smelly and damp clothing, she felt assured that no one would ever recognize her in this state. Her face looked tired and shiny, and perhaps it was better not to start on the state of her hair.

Kicking off the last article of clothing, she turned on the water and waited for it to reach a lukewarm temperature before stepping in.

But suddenly her heart sank strait to bare feet. A distant and quiet beeping was barely audible above the sound of the shower, but her keen hearing picked up on it none the less. She was being called to duty. On her day off.

Shutting off the water she hurried into her bedroom where she found her com-link on the dresser. In all honesty, she should have never taken it out, but she hadn't thought that she would be needed today.

"J'onn? Are you there?" she asked as she pushed the small machine back into her ear.

"Diana," J'onn's monotone voice stated, "You are needed in the watchtower. We have a situation developing."

"It is my day off J'onn, I thought Wally was next on call," she regretted how whiny the statement sounded, but she had not had a day to herself for a long while.

"I know, and I am sorry. But this is something that you will have particular interest in."

Letting out an inaudible sigh, "Alright, give me two minutes and then send me up. Do you have my coordinates?"

"Locking on now."

"Okay, Diana out."

Clicking off her ear piece, she quickly made her way to her closet for her uniform. She still felt sticky from her afternoon grocery trip, but hygiene would have to wait. Duty called. She wanted in silence for a moment before she felt the familiar warm tingle of the transporter's beam on her. Her eyes blinked and when she opened them in the next second, her bedroom had been replaced by smooth gray metal and a view of space.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Trouble Abroad

Bruce:

The glow from the screen in front of him cast an eerie light across his cowled face. His expression was grim as he watched the live feeds in front of him. The control deck's screen was divided into 6 squares, each displaying a different troubling scene. In one, armed militants and their hodge-podge cavalry of old military vehicles were advancing on a town. In another, the militia slowly advanced north burning everything in its path. Each was worse than the other. The country of origin for all the violence was Kasnia.

After the defeat of Vandal Savage, Kasnia had come a long way, or so Bruce thought. Princess Audrey legally divorced Savage and assumed her place on the throne as Queen. She and other officials in the country had worked tirelessly to unite the warring North and South regions. It had seemed that they had reached an agreement, and this weekend was supposed to be the signing of the new Constitution. That is, until the scenes he was currently watching had erupted.

It was not uncommon for peace talks to go awry. Especially in an unstable country like Kasnia. But Bruce felt on edge about the whole situation for various reasons. One, was that the South Kasnian leader was currently in the capitol for the signing of the constitution, which meant that a new player in the South had somehow managed to gain power without notice. This was highly unlikely since Bruce himself had been closely monitoring all military and political activity there for many months. Second, life could not have been better for the Kasnian people at the moment. Princess Audrey had lifted many of the crushing taxes on her people, and surrounding countries had lifted their decades old embargos on trade as a sign of good faith. Trade was high and unemployment was falling in all parts of the country. Even Wayne Industries had taken opportunity of the new market. They had recently contracted out to Kasnia's new Department of Energy to create a cheap, yet efficient and lasting way to provide energy to the general population. Many in the rural areas only had limited access to lighting or a sustainable way of heating their homes in the harsh Kasnian winters.

Plus, once the Constitution was signed, Kasnia would launch its own universal healthcare plan and begin its revamp of the nation's crumbling infrastructure. With all this progress, Princess Audrey's popularity had skyrocketed, and in recent polls had shown that the people's confidence in their government was at an all time high. So where had this apparent spark of discontent come from?

He could think of one person in particular who might be able to help him answer that…

From over his shoulder he felt someone approaching.

"Are there any new developments?" J'onn asked as he drew near.

"No, Audrey still has yet to hold a press conference and the militia's progress has been slow," Batman scanned the scenes in front of him one more time, "I need you to get a hold of Diana."

"It's her day off," the Martian responded, "I doubt she would be thrilled to be called in."

"It doesn't matter if she is thrilled or not. She knows Kasnia and Princess Audrey better than anyone in this League, plus she'll have a better political angle on this than either you or I have."

The Bat turned to face his green friend, his expression unreadable behind his mask. J'onn nodded.

"I will call her immediately," and with that, his form gradually faded as he sunk into the floor. He reappeared on the deck below at the communication panel.

Bruce turned his attention back to the screen. He could not deny the mild excitement he felt at the prospect of seeing a certain heroine. It had been a long time since they had worked together…or been together at all. He shook the excitement out of his head. This was not the time or place to feel happy about her presence. Calling her here meant that he knew the situation was worse than he cared to openly admit.

There was something rotten in the state of Kasnia, and he would make it a point to find out what it was.

* * *

Diana:

It took a moment for her body to readjust to the new surroundings and for the strange tingle to dissipate from her skin. She would never get used to having her particles essentially disintegrated and reformed.

"Diana, thank you for coming on such short notice," J'onn's voice said from the communication deck. She turned to face him with a smile and made her way to where he was standing. Gazing briefly at his face she hoped to gauge the severity of the situation by his expression. But not unlike Bruce, J'onn had one killer poker face.

"Of course. What can I do?"

"Batman is waiting on the control deck to debrief you."

At the mention of his name, or more accurately his alias, Diana felt both bewildered and oddly warm. She hadn't seen the Dark Knight for almost month after the whole gang had united to stop a major prison break. He had gone on the inactive roster after that with the excuse that he needed some time to focus on his work. Everyone and their mother knew that that was code for things were too quiet in Gotham and he was growing suspicious. So off he would skulk into the underbelly of everything unpleasant to find out what. Whether or not his suspicions were well founded or it was just paranoia, Diana would never know. All she did know was that she couldn't help missing his dark, yet reassuring presence on those "holidays" of his.

With a nod to J'onn, Diana flew up to the command deck above. As her heeled feet landed, a familiar sight greeted her eyes. His black covered shoulders were hunched in concentration and the points of his cowl were silhouetted by the glow of the computer screen. As she began approaching him, that strange warmth crept back up her neck and across her face. And she couldn't help the small smile from forming either.

"This had better be good Bruce!" she called out teasingly as she drew near.

"On the contrary," he growled, "it is quite bad."

Diana reached his side and leaned over to get a look at what was on the screen. As she leaned closer, his smell filled her nose. It was altogether subtle, yet manly, and the feeling of wanting to bury her head into his neck to be enveloped by that scent was very real. She quickly banished this strange thought and replaced it with being hyper-aware of how she had not showered and that she probably smelled like a twelve year old boy after gym class. With an inward blush, she leaned away from his form to make sure that he did not catch wind.

"What have you got?" she asked breaking the mildly awkward silence.

"Kasnia. Seems that some are not as excited about their county's new beginning."

In a split second, the confused feeling of embarrassment and excitement of being close to Bruce was swept from her mind and replaced with concern. She and Audrey had stayed close after the Vandal Savage debacle. She regularly saw her at summits and UN gatherings and they would occasionally speak on the phone.

"Where is Audrey? Is she okay?"

"She is fine, for now," Bruce responded ominously.

Her brow furrowed as she finally got a good look at what was playing on the screen. She recognized the hilly and forested landscape of her good friends kingdom, and also recognized that the armed men weren't just out for training exercises.

"But the South's leader is in the Capitol! Why would they attack now without their leader?"

"That is why I asked for you to be here. Something doesn't seem right. The South's militia was made up of mercenaries and hired guns before Audrey took over. Now it looks like farmers and laborers are the one's taking up arms." Batman said, casting her a side glance.

He was right in that regard. Most of the "soldiers" were wearing common work clothes. But the weapons they were toting were anything but common. She spied brand new assault rifles, grenades and even what looked like a small rocket launcher mounted to the back of an old military Jeep.

"You're right. There is no way they would be this organized without help. Those guns are not cheap, and look at how they are moving," Diana observed pointing to the top middle screen, "it looks like they've almost been arranged into ranks."

Bruce leaned in to get a better look, when the top right square suddenly changed to show a podium with the Kasnia's royal insignia mounted on the front. Audrey's petite, blonde form walked across the stage to take her place behind the podium. She look regal like a Queen should, yet as she turned to face the crowd, Diana couldn't help but notice the sadness written across her face.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It is with great sorrow that I must announce that the signing of the New Kasnian Constitution will be postponed until further notice," an uproar rose nearly drowning out the Princess's words, "My advisors and I have decided that until the uprising in the South is sorted out, that it is unfair to move on with our plans. We are working to get in contact with the leader of this new group, and we hope to reach a mutual agreement. We thank you and the World for your support during this time. My advisors will now take questions."

With that, the small woman stepped away from the podium and made her way back off stage. Four bearded and official looking men took her place and began answering the barrage of questions that reporters flung at them. Bruce turned the sound down and swiveled his chair to face her.

"So you in? Or would you like to go back to your day off?" he asked in a rhetorical tone.

"I'm in, let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Diplomatic Diplomacy

Bruce:

The Javelin 7 slowly materialized from the cover of the clouds as it began its descent. Below on Earth, night had fallen and all that could be seen were a few sparse lights and ghostly outlines. It seemed so calm from so high up, but looks could be deceiving.

Him and Diana had decided against teleporting down to Kasnia since they had been unable to get a hold of Audrey or her advisors. Diana wanted to give her, or any other official, ample time to get back to them. She sounded so official when she stated that the last thing they needed was a jurisdictional disagreement. He had wanted to bypass that altogether and head straight for the front. But he supposed that was why she was the Ambassador, and he wasn't. Not to mention he sort of liked when she reverted to her political persona.

Taking the Javelin also bought them time to discuss what their plan would be once they finally touched down. They had both agreed that identifying the secretive mastermind behind the uprising was a good place to start. If they could figure out what motivated him to act, perhaps they could resolve the situation with minimal damage and bloodshed.

And then there was another issue that they had to figure out. Shortly after they departed the Watchtower, J'onn had contacted them to let them know the latest development.

Some of the neighboring countries, who had already been doubtful of the emerging nation's ability to change had pulled their investments, promised or otherwise. They did not want to risk losing money if another civil war were to break out. Even Bruce knew he would be lying to himself if he wasn't nervous about the money and equipment his own company had sent for Kasnia's fledging Energy Department. If it all came tumbling down, there were going to be some very unhappy people to deal with in Gotham. That was something he liked to avoid like the plague.

In just a few hours, Kasnia's positive upward swing had come plummeting down. Even if Audrey and the new government officials were able to stop the rebels, they would be left to fill the promises they had made to the people with almost no funding. It was a dire situation indeed, and that was why he hoped their help would be accepted.

"I've finally heard from Audrey, she wants to speak with us," Diana's voice said through the headset.

"Good. Hopefully that means we'll get a warm welcome," he responded rather sarcastically. He was impatient to get to work.

"Bruce please try to be diplomatic. Audrey may know that we mean well, but Kasnians are a proud people, and if they feel like we are trying to take control, they will shut us out. Can you promise that you will let me handle it?" The pleading undertone of her voice was not lost on him. But she was right, perhaps it was better for her to do the talking. He was self aware enough to know that he wasn't the "diplomatic" type.

"Fine," he growled in acquiescence.

"That's a good bat," she said in a voice that was far too close to mocking for Bruce's liking. For revenge, he gave the Javelin's clutch a good nudge making the whole vessel dip violently before leveling out. Diana let out a yelp of alarm. He knew how much she hated flying in small spaces where she had no control.

He smirked to himself when he heard her murmur "Grouch…" under her breath.

Diana:

She and Bruce made their way the Javelin's ramp and onto the busy tarmac. Everywhere, newscasters, dignitaries and even aid workers were spilling out of planes and helicopters. It was utter chaos. Bruce was in the process of being yelled at by an elderly airport official telling him he couldn't park the Javelin there when Diana noticed a group of Kasnian Royal Army guards making their way toward her.

Within the group of guards were a number of important looking people. Ah, just the thing she was looking for. Diana began making her way towards them as well and as they got closer, she could just make out a tiny blonde head hidden amongst the tall men. They came to halt facing each other and the wall of soldiers parted. The Queen's smiling face came forward to meet her.

"Diana! It's been so long!" she exclaimed as she reached to hug the taller woman.

"Your Grace," Diana said with a smile as leaned down to hug her back, "I wish I could say that I was happy to see you, but I feel it would be inappropriate under the circumstances."

"Diana you know better than to use such formalities with me! And as for the circumstances, yes, they could be…better…" Audrey said with a sad smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She then seemed to notice something over Diana's shoulder. Diana turned her head and saw Bruce approaching them.

"Audrey, you remember Batman. He helped us handle Savage all those years ago."

"Your Highness," Bruce said with a curt bow.

"My my, the Justice League must attend etiquette classes!" the blonde laughed extending her hand to the man in black. She then gestured to the men standing behind her, "These are my advisors and members of the new council, Stefan, Dmitri, Igor and Petar."

The men came up one by one to shake hands and greet them. As the last one came up to her, Diana recognized him as Petar Nagy, the Southern faction's former leader. He was a rather short, and skinny man with dark hair and a very severe face. Despite his unimpressive stature, she could tell he probably usually carried himself with an air of authority that commanded respect. But today, his expression was only one of sadness.

That look only gave Diana a new surge of urgency.

"It is unfortunate to have to meet you all under such circumstances, but my friend and I have to come to offer our help, and we can't waste another minute," she said with as much urgency as she could muster.

"Ve are very grateful, for ve have been unsuccessful in making much progress," the man named Igor said. He appeared to be the oldest of the men and he spoke with the thickest accent. The military uniform he wore was older than the guards that had escorted them, and Diana recognized a pin on the lapel that looked vaguely familiar.

"How can we help?" she responded. She knew that she and Bruce had already formulated what their priorities were, but that would do them no good if they weren't shared by all parties involved.

Igor glanced around at all commotion going on around them and whispered "Perhaps ve should go to ze palace to speak? It vill be more private and-"

But he never got to finish.

"There is no time to talk. The longer we wait the closer the rebels get to the Capitol and the more towns they occupy. Diana and I have a plan, and with your permission we'd like proceed," Bruce interrupted.

A tense silence fell over the group. She saw Audrey bite her lip in apprehension and the other council members' eyes widen slightly. Igor's expression was unreadable as he regarded the Bat with a level gaze.

Diana cringed inwardly, but tried to keep her face outwardly neutral. Damn him for being so stubborn. Damn him, damn him, damn him! He had promised that he would let her do the talking and this was preciously why. He was blunt, rude and couldn't read situations like this as well as she could. Igor was the oldest and most likely had the most experience among them right now. She knew this because she finally remembered where she had seen the pin. It was the same one that Audrey's late father, King Gustav, had used to wear. It had been awarded to the brave men who had fought against Soviet occupation and oppression back in the 60's, 70's and 80's. They were credited with saving hundreds of thousands of lives by using information from their espionage missions to evacuate towns and cities targeted by the Soviet Union.

If anyone was going to be able to help them interpret and understand the movements of the guerillas in the South, it was him. Now she wasn't so sure thanks to Bruce's inability to LISTEN. If that stubborn ass in the mask had just paid attention like she had, he would have noticed Igor's pin and position as well.

The quiet reigned supreme for a few more moments when Diana decided she would be the first to speak and try to diffuse the situation.

But just like Igor, she never got the chance.

This was because the older man had burst into laughter. He threw his head back and his whole body shook with the mirth. Diana stood dumbfounded and she wasn't alone in this. Audrey, the councilmen, and even the guards seemed blown away.

Finally the big man composed himself enough to say "Now zere is man vith conviction! Ve need more people like you here in Kasnia. More uh…. "cahones" as you Americans say, no? I agree vith ze man, I sink zhat you two should go do vhat you do best. Does anyvone object?"

He turned to look at the other men who nodded their agreement and then his gazed settled on Audrey. She would have the final say.

"My Queen?" he asked.

Audrey was quiet for a moment. A look of uncertainty crossed her eyes. Diana didn't blame her. If anything went wrong, the weight of it all would fall on her petite shoulders. It was a heavy burden for anyone to bear. In flash though, the look was gone, replaced by steely resolve.

"Of course," Audrey said, "But please, try to reason with them. I don't want any more Kasnian blood spilled."

"That's our goal, and you have our word Your Highness," Bruce said with another curt bow. With that he took his leave back towards the Javelin.

Diana watched him go for a moment before turning back to Audrey and her entourage.

"I am so sorry about that," she said casting her eyes down with embarrassment, "He isn't really a people person…or pleaser for that matter."

Igor laughed once again. "Yes vell, he sure has a vay vith vords!"

"It is alright Diana my friend. Now go, or else he might leave without you!" Audrey said pointing towards the Javelin where Bruce was already in the cockpit a revving up the engine. Without another word she quickly flew back to the aircraft's entrance, turning briefly to wave back to her friend.

She heard a distant "Good luck!" before the ramp closed behind her and she felt the familiar drop in her stomach from the Javelin lifting off.

She walked towards the front where Bruce was carefully navigating out of the busy air field. She took a seat to his right and watched the ground fall away from the window. It took all she had not to reach over and punch that perfect face of his into a bloody pulp.

The only sound in the cabin was the low thrum of the thrusters as they picked up speed. In her mind she was thinking of all the nasty things she wanted to say to him about his transgression on the ground. His voice interrupted her thoughts however. He was really on a role today, wasn't he?

"Diana…"

Here we go.

"No, now you let me talk since you wouldn't let me down there," she bit out, "You are SO lucky Igor was as easy going as he was, or else we would have been in some serious SHIT. And what happened to letting me do the talking? Do you not trust me or something?"

Her face felt warm with anger and frustration. He was always going around doing anything and everything he wanted like some little kid. Usually she could overlook things like this. Especially when it came to him because she had always been so ready to forgive him. Well not this time. This time it was one of her closest friends' country that was hanging in the balance. She would not let him get away with it, no matter how much she liked him.

Silence fell once again. She stared at him, hard, waiting to see what crafty, pathetic excuse he would come up with now. In fact, she wanted him to say something else. She was armed to the teeth with things she had kept bottled up for too long about his crappy attitude. She WANTED to unleash her fury.

But of course, she was stunned into silence once again.

"You're right, I should not have gone back on my word without discussing it with you first. I'm sorry."

Her anger dissipated like a fire that had had a bucket of water poured over it. Bruce Wayne, _apologizing_? She fumbled to formulate a response but he spoke once again before she could.

"And Diana, I trust you. I'd trust you with my life."

Her heart soared, much to her dismay. She wanted to be angry at him! She wanted to show him that she wouldn't take this crap, not from him, not from anyone!

Then she saw him smirk.

"What is so funny?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.

"Did you just say "shit", Princess?"

Great Hera.

A lone figure stood on the ridge overlooking the air strip below. He smiled as he watched the two "superheros" take off in their flying metal bucket and head South. His plan was going exactly as he had planned. He really loved it when that happened.

As the aircraft became nothing more than a dot in the sky, the mysterious man turned on his heels and walked toward the dark tree line of the forest. He couldn't waste any time, he had work to do. The darkness swallowed him up, and he disappeared without a trace.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Dog of War

* * *

Diana:

"Anything?"

"Not since five minutes ago, Princess."

Diana sighed loudly, making sure that Bruce could her doing so through the com-link. She was growing restless.

After taking their leave from Audrey and her troupe, the pair had headed straight for behind enemy lines. J'onn had done some extra recon from the Watchtower for them, and had sent along several satellite images of a town that seemed to have unusually high military activity. There, they hoped to find the epicenter, or at least some kind of command post that the rebel leader might be operating from. That had proven to be far harder than either of them had anticipated.

Once they landed, they had started by stealing into the town itself, hoping to make contact with some residents for information. Initially, the town had seemed deserted save for a few men armed with rifles patrolling the empty streets. Together, they had moved through the shadows like thieves, canvassing the entire area. But besides scaring a few stray cats, they found no one.

They had almost reached the outskirts of the town and given up hope of finding anything there, when they heard a "psssssssst" coming from dark of the alley across from theirs.

A small boy stepped out from behind some boxes just enough to catch their attention. He made a waving motion, indicating for them to follow him and then took off running down the alley. Checking that no men were patrolling the street, she and Bruce had run after him. He led them through a maze of back alleys at a full sprint before stopping in front of a small door that Diana would never have even noticed. He waited for them to join him beside the door before knocking three times. And then they waited.

As they had stood in the darkness of the alley, a cool breeze picked up stirring some paper and leaves on the ground. She couldn't help but shiver. Above, the breeze cleared the clouds just enough for some of the moon's eerie silver light to shine through. It was then that she finally got a good look at the little boy who had led them here. He could not have been more than eight years old. Yet his weary, tired face seemed older than any adult she had ever met. His clothes was rather ill fitting and worn, probably hand me downs from an older brother or relative. His dark hair stuck out in odd directions like he had just gotten out of bed and there was a smudge of dirt across his nose.

Before she could stop herself, she had instinctively reached out and with her thumb, gently wiping away the streak. He seemed mildly surprised as she had did so, but did not pull away. When she lowered her hand, his own went up and rubbed the area hard, making sure it was all gone. When he looked up at her again the smudge was completely gone and replaced by little red mark from his vigorous rubbing. She smiled and gave him a thumbs up to let him know it was gone. He'd smiled back up at her and for a moment, his face had looked young again.

In that moment, the small door had swung open, and an old man ushered them inside.

Inside, they found a rather large group of men and women gathered around a fireplace, speaking in low voices. As she and Bruce entered the room, a hush fell over them as every person simultaneously turned to look at them. One of the men sitting closest to them asked them something in Kasnian.

Diana's stomach had dropped then as she realized that neither she nor Bruce spoke a lick of Kasnian. She had really only ever spoken with the Kasnian UN representatives and Audrey who had all learned English very early in life. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she tucked away a reminder to take some lessons in Kasnian when this was all over.

Thankfully, the old man who had let them in, who introduced himself as Simon, spoke English. He told them how the rebels had appeared without warning in their town square the day before, denouncing the new government and the monarchy. They called for the people to rise up and take their country back and to fight against those that would exploit them.

Simon explained how the mysterious men tried to get the townspeople to join their cause, and how the soldiers implemented marshal law when they met with resistance. They resisted, he said, because the people realized that the men were just a bunch of rag tag farmers and assumed that they were just angry because they had suffered a bad harvest. They thought that the men only wanted to intimidate the town into giving them money and then they would leave, that there was no way the men would really try to control them. That was when the guns had come out.

They shot some people to make a point. They also arrested the mayor and three town officials that they deemed as valuable hostages and had taken them to an old abandoned barn out in the hills behind the town.

"Is that where they are operating from?" Bruce asked.

"As far as I know, yes," the man had said grimly.

And that was where they found themselves at the present moment.

They had been staking out the rundown barn for hours and there had been almost no observable activity in that whole time. There were only a few old military trucks parked out front and Bruce's infrared scanner confirmed people inside. He also saw what looked like the four hostages Simone had described, tied up but alive.

She had wanted to go get them right away, but Bruce had told her to wait. The only other people inside just looked like guards. If they went in now, there was a chance that one of those guards would sound the alarm and then they would be back to square one.

He convinced her to wait and see if anyone else would come. A leader couldn't stay away from the command center forever was his logic.

And so Diana found herself laying on her stomach under the cover of some low shrubs, watching the entrance of the cabin. Dirt had worked its way down the front of her uniform and she was covered in small scrapes from the shrubs' twigs. To make matters worse, the temperature was dropping quickly, and she was beginning to lose some of the feeling in her hands and face. Any physical discomfort she felt however was completely overshadowed by her extreme boredom.

But this was Bruce's style. He liked to watch from afar and to gather as much information as he could before formulating a meticulous plan of action. He didn't like surprises, so he tried to make sure that there weren't any before proceeding.

Diana was the exact opposite. She was more the "knock, knock I'm coming in" and kicking down the door kind of gal. It wasn't really the smoothest way of doing things, but she didn't have the patience for all this observation crap. Generally, she would have protested long ago against waiting any longer. But after he had surprised her with that 100% genuine Bruce Wayne apology, she decided to ease up on him a little. Thinking of that made her hands and face not feel so cold anymore.

It was truly amazing how quickly he could change her mood from one extreme to the other. He was the only one she had ever known who could do that. Everyone else in the League knew better than to stoke her fiery temper out of fear that she'd pound them into the dust, but that didn't even seem to cross the giant Bat's mind. He told her like it was, especially if it was something she didn't want to here. It was both aggravating and invigorating all at once. He challenged her and it was exciting.

Of course she would throw it right back at him whenever the opportunity presented itself. There were very few who say they had done that and lived to tell the tale. She took pride in that fact.

It also made her think that maybe, just maybe, she occupied a special enough place in his mind (or heart) that gave her that special privilege.

"Diana," the sudden interruption almost made her heart leap from her chest, "look alive, there's a vehicle coming your way."

Sure enough, the light from two large headlights became visible at the end of the dirt road leading up to the old structure. As it drew closer, Diana picked up the small binoculars Bruce had lent her and tried to get a better look. The vehicle turned out to be a large trunk. Sitting in the bed were about ten armed men and in the cab sat two more men.

She followed the truck's movement through her binoculars until it came to a stop in front of the barn doors. The men in the back began unloading, and a man shouted orders at them in Kasnian. One of them ran around the side of the truck and opened the passenger side door.

A tall, blonde man emerged through the open door. He absolutely towered over the armed gun men that were gathering around him. He was wearing a very fancy looking suit.

"Well he sure looks important..." Diana murmured under her breath, 'and vaguely familiar…' she added mentally.

"Can you see what is happening?" Bruce's voice asked quietly through the com-link. He was positioned on the other side of the truck in a tree and couldn't make out what was going on.

"I think we've got our guy," she said with a smile.

"Good. Wait until they go inside, then we'll pay them a little visit."

"Deal." She could barely contain her excitement.

The man looked to be speaking to the group in front of him, but she couldn't make anything he said out. After a moment, the men began making their way to the barn doors. One man ran ahead slightly and unlocked one of the large double doors and allowed the blonde man in. One by one, each of the other soldiers also disappeared inside. The same man who unlocked the door began pulling it shut, but instead of closing it all the way, he left a small crack open.

"Let's move."

She saw Bruce's dark figure drop from a tree across the clearing from her and start towards the barn. Wiggling herself out from underneath the pointy shrub, she stood up and stretched her aching muscles momentarily before making a break for the door as well.

Bruce was already there, peering through the small space of open door. She knelt down beside him and leaned in so she could see inside.

The barn was poorly lit and was almost completely empty save for a few paper covered desks, old horse stalls and old, rusting equipment. Standing in the middle of the space were the handful of guards and the tall man. From the back, Diana saw the four hostages being brought to kneel in front of the group.

Then she heard the man speak.

"Gentlemen, I hope you found your accommodations suitable." he said while gesturing around to the dingy space around them. His voice was so deep she could have sworn she felt the door vibrate beneath her fingers.

"I hope you have given my proposition some thought. Your friends in neighboring towns have found my terms to be quiet agreeable. Join me in my quest to create the most powerful military force the world has ever seen, and be handsomely rewarded. Or die. The choice is simple."

"We will never join you," the man, whom Diana assumed was the mayor, spat out.

"We believe in the New Kasnia. We don't want anymore war and fighting, we want peace!" exclaimed another.

The tall man sighed, "Pity, I was so hoping it wouldn't come to this."

That was when she saw the gun. He drew it languidly from the inside of his suit jacket and made sure that the what little light there was made the silver metal glint. The hostages' eyes widened marginally, but they kept their heads up and stared directly ahead. Her whole body tensed and she turned to Bruce with desperation. Through her eyes she hoped he would see that now was the time to act. But his eyes said wait, wait for that bastard to disclose more information before stopping him. She shook her head furiously and looked quickly back at the scene inside.

The tall man was turning the gun slowly over in his hands and seemed to be considering something. The silence was unbearably heavy, and then the man spoke again.

"I've never really liked guns. They are too detached, too impersonal. I like being very close to whomever I kill so I can see that little light leave their eyes…but this is a new suit, and I would hate to see it get ruined." With that he pointed the gun at the first hostage's head.

That was enough.

"STOP!" she screamed with all the authority and rage she could muster. She pulled the barn door fully open with so much force that it pulled clean of the hinges. She tossed the ruined slab of wood like a toy, effortlessly over her shoulder.

The armed soldiers yelled in surprise and instantly reached to ready and aim their weapons. But she wasn't interested in them, she only had eyes for the asshole in the suit.

His eyes met hers. And her blood ran cold.

"Ares…"

"Hello Diana, how nice of you to finally join us."

* * *

Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed it. Please review!

-Peace,DAS


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: It's a Trap

* * *

Bruce:

Bruce had barely registered Diana's shout before he was forced to roll out of the way of flying shards of wood from the decimated door. He covered his face with his cape as the flying debris pelted him.

Dammit! She was so rash!

If she had paid attention she would have noticed that the man's finger had never even been on the trigger. Bruce had already had a batarang and a smoke bomb ready to throw inside if he saw an actual threat. Now they no longer had the element of surprise and had perhaps a dozen guns pointed at them. That fact may not worry Diana seeing that she had her magical gauntlets and super speed. He unfortunately was not graced with such things, and usually relied on gaining the upper hand on his enemy before they even noticed him.

He looked over to the entrance of the barn where the infuriating Amazon was still standing. But the anger she had exhibited just moments ago had been replaced by horror. He was instantly confused. There had not been any shots fired so he assumed that the hostages were still alive, so what was there to be so blown away by?

"Wonder Woman!" he called out to her. His voice seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she had just been under and she whipped around to face him.

"Batman! We need to get-!"

She never got to finish as a beam of ragged, hot red light shot out from inside the barn and hit her full on. The sudden flash of light and heat forced Bruce to look away, momentarily making him lose sight of Diana. When he felt the heat dissipate, he turned back and saw that the force of the beam had pushed her almost across the full length of the clearing. He was relieved to see her arms crossed in front of her which meant that she had been able to block it in time.

What the heck had that "it" been in the first place?

He was about to get his answer.

The tall blonde man suddenly strolled out of the barn, but his suit had been replaced by what looked like a full set of gray armor.

'What the…?' was all he could think to himself.

The now armored man raised his arm toward Diana again and an eerie red glow began to emanate from his out stretched palm. The glow gathered into a sphere and exploded towards her. Bruce watched helplessly as she dodged to the side and the ball of energy collided with a tree instead, ripping the thick trunk in half.

Diana flew toward him and landed beside his crouched figure. Her breaths somewhat labored and her attention focused completely on mystery man.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

"Ares," was her grim reply.

"Ares? As in the Greek God of war?"

"The one and only," this time it was the alleged God who spoke. He was walking towards the two superheroes with the swagger of a man who had already won. Honestly, Bruce didn't know why these things continued to surprise him. His friends were almost entirely made up of aliens, plus a Martian and an Amazon warrior. A Greek God was honestly one of the more normal things he could have expected.

"What do you want with Kasnia Ares?!" Diana yelled as she squared off with the imposing man.

Ares chuckled. It sounded like a bunch of tumbling rocks crashing into each other. "You still haven't figured it out? I'm disappointed."

"He wants to rebuild Kasnia into a military super-power. Didn't you hear him inside?" Bruce said, slowly getting to his feet.

"No that's not it," Diana said with narrowed eyes, "Ares doesn't build things, he just likes to pit one side against the other and watch them fight."

Bruce racked his brain. What were they missing? He slowly began to review the aspects of the situation from the beginning, trying to connect the incongruence's.

First, the onset of the rebellion had been almost instantaneous and as far as he knew, with no real igniting events. Secondly, the people involved had been farmers. This was odd since they were some of the people that would benefit the most from the new Kasnian government, who had sold copious amounts of previously government owned land for the purpose of farming. He also recalled Simon saying how the townspeople had simply assumed that the anger had been caused by a bad harvest, but from what limited knowledge Bruce knew of agriculture, the next harvest would not have been in full swing until the following month. He also recalled how Diana had pointed out the modern weapons the farmers had been toting around in the surveillance videos and how they seemed to moving in a very organized fashion. This could only have been accomplished by someone who was well versed in the art of war. And what about the fact that Ares wasn't even going to shoot the hostages? His finger had never even been on the trigger!

Another troubling question was that if Ares was really behind this all, how had he been able to convince all these people to follow them? Had he promised them money or power if they turned on their fellow countrymen? Somehow Bruce doubted that the war-weary Kasnian populace would have been won over by that tantalizing offer so easily. They had suffered countless failed schemes from power hungry people, and they were not likely to want a repeat of those situations.

It just did not seem to all fit.

He looked at Diana beside him and could see in her eyes that she too was quickly reexamining the facts in her head with no avail.

Just then, Ares spoke, "I can see that I have overestimated your capabilities. So allow me play the part of the Sphinx and riddle you this. What is it that I do best?"

War, thought Bruce to himself.

Ares paused and looked at the pair with a cocky, raised eyebrow before continuing, "And who in this mortal world tries their hardest to stop what I do?"

Then it hit Bruce like a ton of bricks. He could tell that the same realization had also just dawned on the woman beside him.

Who knew how many of Ares' plots the Justice League had unknowingly foiled over the last two years. The God was probably bitter and annoyed that he wasn't allowed to play his little games. Diana's involvement in politics and her close ties to the Kasnian Royal family had presented the perfect bait to get the members of the League involved and out in the open, where Ares could deal with them himself. If he were able to eliminate at least one of them, Bruce could only imagine the retaliation that the remaining members of the League would mount. Then they would ALL be out in the open and emotionally vulnerable. Ares didn't need to eliminate all of them, just enough members so he wouldn't be bothered.

"Dammit," Diana whispered, "He wanted us here all along!"

"Ah, finally Princess. Yes, unfortunately, your little gang of do-gooders has made my favorite pastime very difficult indeed," the God said with an exaggerated look of exasperation on his face, "But I knew that you all have bleeding hearts when it comes to the common people. Especially you, Princess. That mother of yours fostered far too much love for mortals in you."

Bruce felt Diana tense beside him. He could tell where this was going, and he wasn't very happy about it. He had never had to fight a God before, let alone the God of War. Chances were that he didn't stand much of a chance on his own. He doubted he could even offer much help to Diana. The possible outcomes of this mission were growing increasingly bleak.

"How are you going to control these men now that they know what you are?" Diana yelled.

Bruce hadn't thought of that point. If the men saw what their leader really was, perhaps they wouldn't be so keen on fighting by his side.

But the tall God just chuckled. As if on cue, the dozen men who had been inside the barn came rushing out and obediently flanked their leader. Their eyes briefly glowed the same angry red that Ares' energy beam had been.

"Mind control," Bruce said looking at Diana alarmed.

"Humans are quite simple minded and very prone to the power of suggestion," Ares explained in a matter of fact tone of voice, "It only took a few moments before I had a loyal army behind me. Now, where were we? Oh yes, get them!" Ares shouted at the armed men beside him, pointing towards Bruce and Diana.

The twelve of them charged ahead, guns raised. From over their heads came another one of Ares' red beams.

"Move!" Bruce yelled as he shoved Diana to the side and leapt away himself. The beam made contact with only ground and sent a spray of dirt and debris into the air. Undeterred, the gunmen came charging through the dusty cloud.

Bruce reached into his utility belt and grasped two flash bangs.

"Wonder Woman, I'll take care of these guys."

"And I'll take care of Ares," she replied darkly.

* * *

Diana:

A bright flash exploded from Bruce's direction followed by a chorus of confused shouts from the farmer soldiers. She hoped he remembered that the men did not know what they were doing, and that Audrey had begged them to exercise restraint.

Turning away, she redirected her attention to the real problem at hand. The smug son of a bitch was staring at her expectantly.

"Let's see what an Amazonian Princess can do," he said, a sword, shield and helmet materializing from thin air.

"Allow me to demonstrate," Diana spit with venom. She flew like a bullet directly for him, cocking her fist back and punching him with all her might. He was able to get his shield up in time, but the force of her blow pushed him back several feet.

She closed the distance between them quickly and launched a well-aimed kick at his head. But he was faster this time, and he grabbed her foot and flung her to the side. Catching herself with a flip, Diana landed in a crouch. Without missing a beat, she darted back towards him. She had too be quick about this if she were to stand a chance. The God was much bigger than her and had millennia of experience behind him on the battle field. But what she lacked in those areas she made up for with her speed and her drive to protect. There was no chance she could kill him, he was immortal after all, but if she could prove herself superior in battle, she could at least make him accept defeat and relinquish his control over the farmers.

As she drew near him, he brought down his large sword. She blocked the blow with her bracelets and sparks rained down. She threw another punch at his helmeted head and got close enough to force him to stumble backwards. His moment of unbalance gave her another shot, and she punched him hard in the middle of his breastplate.

That sent him reeling backwards. A murderous growl echoed out from inside his helmet.

Good, if he got angry, he would get sloppy.

Charging back toward her, he used his shoulder to force her into the air. He then swung his shield acros his body to slam her airborne form back into the ground. The air left her lungs and bits of dirt landed in her eyes, blinding her of a split second. She heard him grunt as he brought the sword down towards her. Feeling a shift in the air to her right, Diana rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the sword's sharp edge.

Jumping to her feet, she quickly wiped the dirt from her face just in time to block an onslaught of heavy blows. The sound of metal clashing filled her ears each time his sword made contact with her bracelets.

His lumbering form charged at her again, his sword swinging downward as if to cut her in half long ways. She jumped to the side to avoid it, but he had anticipated this move. His shield once again came swinging to meet her again as she jumped to the side and this time, it caught her in the side of the head. Lights danced before her eyes as she was flung to the side. She hit the ground and for a moment, was too disoriented to stand. Something warm slid down the side of her face. Reaching up to wipe it away, she saw that the liquid was dark and felt sticky.

It had been a long time since someone had made her bleed.

She could hear his heavy footsteps coming towards her. Shaking her head to try and clear the haze, she stood to face him again.

"You should have stayed down Princess," he growled, lunging forward. Diana parried his blow and placed a well aimed kick at the junction of his neck and shoulder. She heard him grunt and saw his helmet twist out of position so it exposed half of his face.

He grabbed the edge of the helmet in frustration and through it to the side. Now she could clearly see the anger that filled his eyes, and his murderous aura seemed to permeate the air around her.

They stood facing each other a moment, both trying to catch their breath. From over her shoulder, Diana could hear the peppering of gun fire and the grunts of Bruce's opponents. She knew he was perfectly capable of handling himself, but she would never forgive herself if he was hurt.

Resisting the urge to turn around and check on him, Diana refocused her attention to her opponent.

She could see that Ares was tiring. He was being weighed down by his heavy armor and the sword was proving largely ineffective on her. The God must have come to the same realization. He tossed the shield and sword to the side and raised his hand.

Ugh, not this again.

She was forced to take to the air to avoid yet another one of his red death rays. He stared up at her hovering form and she glared back down at him and cast a quick glance in her companion's direction.

From her vantage point, Diana could see the entire clearing. Bruce had subdued all but three of Ares' pawns but look like he would be wrapping up soon. She wished she could say the same for herself.

If only there were some weak point she could remember about him. Growing up in Themyscira, she had been subjected to years of Greek history and politics, especially where the God's were involved. She recalled the day she had learned about Ares and his fall from grace. His antics in the human world had made other God's duties difficult to accomplish, thus making him unpopular among the other deities. Then, after the horrendous outcome of Troy, Zeus had allegedly threatened to imprison Ares in Tartarus for his meddling. They had struck some kind of deal that limited Ares' powers on mortal earth, but she could not for the life of her remember what it was. Her thoughts were disrupted by having to dodge yet another of Ares' beams.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Hey everyone, don't forget to review. All your input helps!

-Peace, DAS


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Risky Business

* * *

Bruce:

Bruce stared grimly down at the dozen, unconscious soldiers before him. After defeating them, he had bound them up with wire to keep them from escaping and moved them off to the side of the clearing out of harm's way. They had put up a surprising fight, but eventually had proved to be no match for the Dark Knight.

Speaking of surprising fights, he cast a glance at Diana and Ares who were still in the heated midst of their own battle. Neither seemed to be making much headway against the other. They were too evenly matched. And that impressed him. He knew first hand that Diana was strong and her skill in the field was matched by very few. But he would have been lying to himself if he hadn't been the slightest bit nervous for her when she had squared off with the God of War himself.

Boy had she turned that notion of his on its head. That was not something just anyone could do.

He watched as the Warrior Princess in question lifted the last of the two smaller vehicles that had been parked in front of the old barn and threw it like a toy at her opponent. Ares dodged the flying car easily but while he was distracted, Diana closed the distance between them and landed a great hit to the side of his face. The large man went flying and landed in a clatter of armor and dirt quite some distance away.

Panting, Diana turned toward him and shouted "Batman! Get the hostages and the men out of here!"

In all honesty he had forgotten all about the four hostages in the barn. He nodded silently and hurried over to the door-less entry way. Scanning the dark interior, he saw drag marks leading to the back of the barn. He followed them silently.

Sitting against the far wall of the structure he found where the four men had retreated as far away from the noises outside as possible. They were still bound with the ropes their captors had put on them and they looked at him with suspicion and distrust. Geez, was he really that much of an unwelcome sight?

He sighed as he approached them and pulled out a small blade to cut off their restraints. But as he drew near and the men saw the glint of the knife they recoiled in fright.

"Please do not hurt us!" one of them begged fearfully, "You can take our money but please leave us our lives! We all have families who are waiting for us to return home! Wives! Children! They need us!"

Bruce clenched his jaw. Those words had cut right to his core.

The man's face suddenly turned into that of his father's on that fateful night in the alleyway. The words his father had spoken echoed through his mind 'We don't want any trouble, take what you want and let us go'. He had offered everything the thug had wanted and still, he had paid with his life.

What if he and Diana had not made it in time? What if Ares had killed these men and a little boy would never have seen his father come home again? What if this night had created another hollow soul like him?

His heart clenched uncomfortably in his chest at the thought.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he replied, his dark voice barely above a whisper, "I am here to help you." He crouched down and cut away the ropes that restrained their hands and feet. Helping them up one by one, the men gripped his hand and thanked him with tears in their eyes.

"Don't thank me yet, we still need to get out of here," he said gruffly.

Hurrying back outside, he made toward the large truck that had transported Ares, which had been spared from the brawl.

"Help me get those men into the back," he ordered, pointing toward the tied up soldiers.

The hostages hesitated then, glancing none too kindly in the direction of their captors.

"It was against their will, they were under mind control," Bruce explained, "That's your real enemy. Ares." He pointed to where the God and Princess were still dueling it out.

"Ares? The God of War?" the men asked with widened eyes.

"As surprising as it sounds, yes."

But the reaction he got was not the one he was expecting. The men looked overwhelmingly relieved and one of them whispered to another "The woman must not be of this world then…".

He was glad his cowl covered the majority of his face so the four ex-hostages could not see the look of utter surprise and mild anger. Had being held captive for that short a while cracked these men's minds?

"I don't see why you are so relieved or why it makes any difference whether or not Wonder Woman is human since she is saving your skins," he growled at them.

"You do not know the story, do you?" asked one of the older looking gentlemen in wrinkled suit.

"I'm afraid I missed that day of class," was Bruce's sarcastic reply.

"It is an old Greek legend we tell young children in Kasnia to teach them that not all choices given are what we want. But I will shorten it for your sake and the young lady's" the man said nodding towards Diana who had just been pummeled by a tree, "Long ago, Ares ran rampant across the land. He inhabited the minds and bodies of entire armies and killed thousands for pleasure and glory. He started so many wars that harvests were neglected, famine was widespread and people died in the streets of starvation and disease. Many other deities went un-worshipped during this time as well, and they grew angry. So Zeus offered Ares an ultimatum. Ares could be banished to Tartarus to suffer for his crimes against humanity and his fellow Gods. Or, he could give up his ability to control more than a thousand men at a time and he could also never ever directly harm another human being, under penalty of imprisonment. Needless to say, he chose the latter."

Bruce let the story sink in for a moment before speaking. So that was why Ares had never had his finger on the gun! Even if had wanted to shoot the hostages, he couldn't. He had probably known that he and Diana had been outside and had only wanted to do something that would draw them out of hiding.

This also explained why he had been nowhere near any of the beatings or shootings in the towns. He was letting the farmers do his dirty work. As for the limited mind control, Ares had just needed a large enough group to get the attention of the League. The farmer's themselves had nothing to do with his scheme at large, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"So what you're saying is, Ares cannot hurt me? Not even if he tried?" he asked after consideration.

"Yes, or at least, that's what the legend would have us superstitious people believe," the gentlemen said warily.

Without another moment, Bruce took off towards the fight. He had a plan.

* * *

Diana:

This was getting annoying. Why wouldn't he just quit? There was no chance he was going to beat her, and if other League members showed up, he would not have the energy to fight them all off too. He had lost.

'But now he won't GET lost,' Diana thought angrily to herself.

He was coming at her again, this time with a boulder over his head. He hurled it at her with all his might and she was forced to jump backward to avoid it. A cloud of dust and dirt blocked her view of him. She was thinking of her next move when from over her shoulder she heard "WONDER WOMAN!"

She whipped around and saw Bruce running towards her at full tilt. Was he nuts? One hit with one of Ares' beams and he would be nothing more than a chard piece of bat meat!

"Batman! Get the people and go! I can handle this!"

"You don't understand, he can't hurt me," Bruce said as he came to stop beside her.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Ares, he can't hurt me. He can't hurt mortals. Zeus put him under oath."

That was it! That was the piece she had been missing!

She remembered now how Zeus had curbed Ares' powers so that if he ever harmed a human, he would be immediately whisked away to the fiery pits below. That was why Ares had focused all his attention on her! She was the only one there that currently wasn't from the human world. Thank Hera that Bruce had finally done some listening!

Then another thought struck her.

Just because Ares would disappear if he tried to hurt someone didn't mean that whatever the God did would not cause harm. Right?

She was about to voice her concern to the man beside her, to tell him to get away or he would get hurt, and that she would never forgive herself if that happened. But just then, through the settling dirt and debris, a red beam burst forth directly for her.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She felt her arms fly up to try and block whatever she could of the blast. She also felt herself being shoved, HARD, to the side by an unknown force. Falling to the ground, she felt the scathing heat of the beam just graze her arm. Looking to where she had just been, she saw Bruce, taking the entire brunt of the hit. Then the light became too bright to look at any longer, and she was forced to look away.

Her heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. A cold feeling was filling her insides. He was gone. There was no way he survived that. She killed him. He died in her place.

As she thought that, she couldn't help but wonder if this is what he had felt all those years ago as boy. When his parents had died protecting him.

She felt something warm slide down her face. This time, when she reached up to wipe it away, it wasn't blood, but tears that refused to stop.

As soon as it had arrived, the light was gone. But she couldn't look just yet. She was afraid of what she would find there. All she could do was lie motionless on the ground, her tears seeping into the earth below.

A booming laugh filled the air as Ares walked forth to see his handiwork.

"See Princess? I am invincible! You and your petty-," but his last words seem to catch in his throat.

Diana didn't know how, but she finally managed the strength to raise herself to her knees. Slowly, she turned her head to look at where he had been.

Her eyes widened, and the tears of sadness turned into tears of joy.

There he lay, completely decked by the force of the hit, but alive. In fact, the asshole was smirking, no, almost SMILING.

"Miss me Princess?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

In that moment she wanted nothing more than to kiss that smug look right off his face, and then completely lay waste to his earthly form, just so he would know the pain he had almost just caused her.

The wind suddenly began to pick up and Diana turned to look back at the source of all this trouble.

"No, it cannot be! I didn't mean to! I was trying to hit HER! NOOOOOOOO!" Ares fell to his knees clutching his head in his hands. The wind began gather around him in a whirlwind, spinning faster and faster. Diana's hair whipped around her face and she had to shield her eyes from the stinging gusts. The vortex around Ares continued to speed up until it reached a critical speed. Suddenly a flash, of what looked suspiciously like lightening, illuminated the sky, and Ares was gone.

All that was left in his place was a small scorch mark.

A hand entered her field of view. Bruce stood over her offering his hand. She gladly took it. He helped her up and they stood looking at each other. Diana could hear her heart beating in her ears. She was so happy he was alive and standing before her, and she hoped he could see that. But she also hoped he could see that she would get him good for pulling a stunt like that. Besides her frustration, she couldn't help the smile that broke out across her face. She looked down at where their hands were still joined, realizing that she wasn't keen on this moment ending.

Abruptly though, he let go and let his own hand fall to his side.

"Let's get out of here," he said whipping around briskly and walking back towards the truck.

Diana's hand was still hovering outstretched where he had left it, her smile disappearing.

* * *

Peace -DAS


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: It's Just Business

* * *

Diana:

Diana stared out of the Javelin's window into the dark. She was exhausted and every inch of her felt like a lead weight. The cut on her temple was already starting to heal thanks to her accelerated regeneration, but the headache that the blow had caused was still in full swing.

After Ares' defeat, she and Bruce and loaded up the farmers and the four others into the large military truck and driven them to where they had hidden the Javelin. When Ares had vanished, it was like a veil had been lifted from the farmers' minds. They had looked around confused and frightened, completely unaware of what had happened or what they had done.

'And perhaps that's for the better,' Diana thought sadly to herself. When they did find out what had come to pass, she didn't want to be around to see their faces.

Turning away from the window, she directed her attention to the pilot of the vessel.

Bruce had been muttering into his headset since they had boarded the Javelin. She couldn't hear what he was saying and couldn't think of who he possibly could be talking to. All she knew was that He didn't seem keen on letting her in on what was going on. In fact, he didn't seem keen on letting her in on anything. At all. Tonight confirmed that little tidbit.

It had been during that small moment back in the clearing, when she thought he was gone, that his grouchiness and darkness had fallen away and she could see the real Bruce. He had smirked at her with boyish glee, not cynicism and his hand had held hers longer then had been necessary. And it was in that moment, plus her thinking he had been dead moments before, that she finally decided to admit to herself what she had suspected for a long time.

She had fallen for him, against her will.

At first she thought it was just his mysterious and dark presence that excited her and his intelligence that challenged and fascinated her. Not to mention his smell, his face, his arms…just her undeniable attraction to him.

But she was starting to realize that there was more to it. Over the last couple years she had seen genuine kindness in him, something that was rare in Man's World. And she had yet to meet anyone as devoted to keeping others safe. Just tonight, he had pushed her out of the way and risked it all on a silly legend that may not have even been true! Her mother and the other Amazon's may have called it chauvinistic, but she knew it was just his extreme way of showing that he cared. But as per usual, he had quickly retreated behind his walls and shut her out.

When he had walked away from her, she could not bring herself to lower her hand. She had let it hover there, hopefully. He did not come back for it however, and it hurt.

So it was then that she also decided that even if there was a possibility of something happening between them, she couldn't let it. It would only end in heart break for her, and she didn't think she could stand that.

She had to look away from him at that moment because she could feel traitorous tears threatening to appear. She redirected her attention to the window and pretended that it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen.

Outside, the black velvet sky was starting to lighten and the stars were starting to disappear. It made her remember just how long the night had really been. It also reminded her of the fact that the last time she had slept, ate or showered was far too long ago. The whole ordeal had been very draining indeed, and she couldn't wait to finally crawl back to her apartment.

Her ears gave an uncomfortable pop just then, signaling to her that they were beginning to descend. She stood up to get a better look out of the front window and saw the lights from the airstrip in the distance.

"Air traffic control said we land right away, and that Audrey and the others are waiting. There's also a medical team waiting for the men" Bruce said without turning to look at her. Rude, as per usual.

"I'll tell them to get their things together," she said quietly, turning and walking to the back of the vessel.

In the back of the Javelin, the men sat crowded together, speaking in low voices. She could tell that most of the men were all anxious to get back on the ground. It was obvious that none of them had flown before, and the small space was making them uncomfortable. She empathized with that feeling deeply.

Speaking to one of the former hostages whom she knew spoke English, she informed them of their imminent arrival and that they would be taken care of by the Kasnian officials once they disembarked.

"We cannot thank you enough for your help Wonder Woman. You and your partner have our deepest gratitude," the villager said to her wearily.

"I am simply happy that things turned out the way they did, and I hope things will only get better from here," she said with the most hopeful smile she could muster considering her current mood.

She resumed her seat by the window and watched as they got closer and closer to their destination. The marked decrease in activity on the air field below was obvious. It seemed that the moment there was no longer the chance of war, the world's attention quickly moved on to the next heart wrenching story.

It was sad to think that tragedy and pain were all that the world care to show on its news stations.

'Alas, humans," Diana sighed to herself. At least now Kasnia could move on with the signing of the constitution and begin on their new path.

Bruce brought the Javelin down gracefully onto the tarmac and no sooner had he touched down that their passengers were up and ready to go. They scrambled down the ramp before it had even opened all the way, elated to be on solid ground. This made Diana crack a little smile.

"You must be one hell of a pilot to get that kind of reaction," she said giving Bruce's brooding figure a side glance.

But he gave no sharp retort or witty comment. He stayed seated in his chair fiddling with something on the computer screen in front of him.

'Great Gods above! Would it kill him to answer just once!' she practically shouted in her head.

"Earth to Bruce! We are here and we still have a job to finish" she said, slowly making her way towards him.

"Diana, I have some business to take care of. Would you mind telling the Queen and her council I am sorry I could not be there and that I wish them luck?" his tone was not angry or annoyed. It sounded more like he was distracted, or somewhere else entirely.

She stopped in her tracks, somewhat startled by both the statement and the unfamiliar ring in his voice.

"Yes of course. Is everything okay?" She knew that question was pointless. He would never reveal anything of a sort. But it was worth a try none the less.

"Everything is fine. It's just something I need to take care of, alone," was all he gave her to work with, "I will contact J'onn so he can lock onto your position and transport you to wherever you want to go." He resumed his typing and fiddling.

Feeling the frustration creep back, she sighing again.

"Alright, fine. I'll handle the politicians by myself."

She cringed a little as soon as the statement left her mouth. She hadn't meant for it to sound so snappy. But then again, what should she care? He had been nothing but an ass this whole mission and now he couldn't even see it through until the end?

Turning on her heels, she made her way out of the Javelin. But before she made it down the ramp, she paused a moment. She gave him one last look from over her shoulder. She didn't know when the next time she would be see him would be, and even though she'd vowed not to let it happen, she wanted to memorize the hunch in his shoulders just for old time's sake.

'Looking isn't a crime' she thought to herself. With that, she stepped on the asphalt below.

A flying streak of blonde nearly barreled her over as soon as she did. Audrey's small frame had latched itself around her waist and the small women was squeezing her.

"You did it! I knew I could count on you!" The Queen had some tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill over. Diana smiled and hugged her back. She was happy to see that her friend was acting like herself again.

"Vonder Voman! We vant to hear everysing!" Igor's voice boomed as he walk towards her and Audrey. She could see the utter look of relief written across the other council member's faces, especially Petar, who looked like he too was on the verge of tears.

Audrey pulled away from her smiling, "Yes, we want to know about everything that happened! Where is your friend?" she asked looking over Diana's shoulder to the Javelin.

Diana turned to look as well. She could just make out Bruce's form in the cockpit as she heard the engines hum to life. She turned away so she wouldn't have to watch him leave.

"He regrets that he could not be here and he wishes you and Kasnia all the luck. But there was some important business that needed his attention immediately." With that, the Javelin lifted off and rose into the air. Within moments it was out of sight.

'Out of sight, out of mind," Diana told herself in her mind, though she did so sadly.

"We have heard some preliminary reports about what happened, but we wanted to hear confirmation from you since you were on the front lines. So is it true? Was it really…Ares?" Audrey asked, her eyes widening in anticipation.

"Yes, it's true. It seems that Ares was hoping to use my connection to you and Kasnia to draw the League out. He wanted to eliminate us so that he would be able to continue his games of war," she explained, "He controlled farmer's minds so they could do the dirty work while he waited for us to appear."

Silence fell as the politicians allowed Diana's information to sink in. She knew that processing the fact that a Greek God was responsible for all this might take some time, and she didn't blame them.

Their silence was interrupted by walkie talkie on Igor's hip crackling to life. He unhooked it from the belt of his uniform and clicked the button on the side and said something akin to he was listening. Kasnian words came out the other end and Igor looked up at Audrey. The Queen nodded with a smile.

"Let him come. I want him to meet the person responsible for saving his investment."

"Let who?" Diana asked, her shoulders slumping slightly. She was beyond exhausted, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stay awake. From a gate across the air field, she saw a car appear and start to drive toward them. It looked like one hell of a nice car.

'Probably some rich guy looking for new markets to exploit,' Diana thought begrudgingly to herself. She had dealt with her fair share of skeezy businessmen at the UN trying to use a developing countries as the locations for their money making schemes. It usually never ended well for the targeted countries.

"When the council and I were reorganizing the state and setting new goals, we came to the conclusion that Kasnia needed a new energy project," Audrey explained as the car drew closer, "Something we could easily sustain and that would make electricity cheap enough for everyone in Kasnia to afford. There were not many that were willing to take a gamble on us, but there was one, an American actually, who seemed to have faith in our cause."

Diana had to hold back the rolling of her eyes. Great, an American energy investor in the Balkans. What could go wrong?

The car came to a stop some distance from them. The driver hopped out and quickly went to the rear door and opened it. She was expecting some older oil mogul or maybe even the owner of a coal company.

But who she found before her was none other than…

"Bruce Wayne," she said aloud before she could stop herself.

'Bastard,' was all she could think.

* * *

Bruce:

He could literally feel the irritation rolling off of Diana in waves.

He knew he should have told her about his and Wayne Enterprise's involvement with Kasnia's energy program, but he had not had the time.

The moment that they had re-boarded the Javelin, he had been bombarded with messages from the board of directors back in Gotham. They had left countless voice-mails and emails, all frantically asking of his whereabouts and if their investment was safe. God forbid they be concerned about the actual people in the country rather than their money.

He had spent the entire ride back convincing them that everything was under control and that he had flown to Kasnia as soon as he had heard and was on his way to speak with the Queen. Eventually they had calmed down enough. Sometimes he wondered why he still put up with it all and didn't just sell the company once and for all. But he knew deep down he could never do that. Plus, it made it easy to keep up appearances.

After he had dropped off Diana and the others, he had quickly hidden the Javelin in the woods not far away and changed out of his uniform. There was a car waiting for him at the terminal and he had gotten straight in. The driver knew better than to ask questions, and had taken him directly to the airfield where he now stood before the Kasnian politicians and a murderous Amazon.

"Ah! Mr. Vayne! Finally ve get to meet in person!" Igor practically bellowed. The older man shook his hand vigorously and clapped him the shoulder.

"You must be Igor. Queen Audrey has told me many good things," Bruce said with a smile. He turned and bowed politely to Audrey and shook the rest of the council members' hands.

The only one left now was Diana.

"Mr. Wayne this is Wonder Woman, and my dear friend. Diana, this is Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises. His company will be working with our new Energy Department," Audrey said moving aside so that there was no longer a barrier between him and the other angry woman. But surprisingly, Diana had reigned in whatever anger she felt and had replaced it with a neutral expression. He guessed this was her "democratic" face she used in politics.

"I believe we've met before Mr. Wayne, at the charity dinner in Paris the night Queen Audrey was kidnapped," she said evenly, extending her had to him.

"Yes, indeed we have. Very nice to see you again Wonder Woman," he shook her hand and had to mask a wince as she nearly crushed his. He supposed he deserved it.

"Please, you can call me Diana," she responded in a falsely sweet tone.

"I had forgotten all about Paris! Well I am happy that you two know each other. Mr. Wayne, Diana and Batman of the Justice League successfully foiled the plot to ruin our plans. And I am happy to report that none of your company's equipment was damaged," Audrey continued to talk to him but he didn't really hear much. He was looking at Diana out of the corner of his eye, trying to assess the damage that had been done.

Really she had no right to be angry, it was just business after all and part of his cover. But he knew that she would accuse him of only wanting to help Kasnia because of the investment. He knew how she felt about foreign investors in cases like these. Of course he was not at all in it for money. He had only jumped on the opportunity before any other ill-intentioned parties came along.

It didn't help that he knew she was already angry with him over the events of earlier.

He hadn't meant to let his guard down like that. But when he had seen her crying because she thought he was dead, he hadn't been able to help himself. It had filled him with joy, not because she was crying, but because she was crying for him. When he had taken her hand, he had reveled in the feel of it and had contemplated not letting go.

Then he had seen a familiar look on her face and instantly thrown up his walls. She had feelings for him, to what degree he did not know, but he couldn't allow it. He was no good for her and he couldn't afford letting her think that he reciprocated those feelings.

His actions had wounded her, but it was for her own good.

"When do you think you will be able to start Mr. Wayne?" Audrey's question cut through his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked turning his attention back to the petite blonde woman. He could almost see the smirk on Diana's face.

"We were wondering when you would be able to start construction on the plants! We were hoping to have them operational before Christmas time."

"Ah, well, perhaps we should we should save this discussion for the morning. Everyone has had a very long night, and we might all benefit from some rest," Bruce said looking around at all the tired faces before him. At that, Diana actually looked relieved.

"You are right Mr. Vayne, we are all exhausted. Let us reconvene in ze morning," Igor announced with a yawn.

"Yes good idea," Audrey agreed, "Diana will you get back okay?"

"I'll have J'onn transport me, seeing as my ride is…missing," Diana said evenly. Bruce pretended not to hear her.

"Very well, good bye my friend, hopefully we will see each other soon under better circumstances."

"Good bye, best of luck until then. Good night gentlemen," she said nodding to each one.

The two woman hugged and Diana stepped away and touched her finger to her com-link. A few moments passed and then a bright light enveloped her, and she was gone.

"Come Mr. Vayne, ve vill personally escort you to your quarters," Igor said directing Bruce to the car, however, once they were out of ear shot of the others, Igor leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry my good man, she will forgive you soon enough."

Bruce tensed slightly. How had Igor figured it out?

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he said evenly. Igor just chuckled and got into the car.

* * *

Diana:

In a blink of an eye, the Kasnian airfield disappeared and Diana found herself in the middle of her apartment's living room. The sun's rays were starting to light up the sky and pour in through the window.

What a night.

In about 12 hours she defeated a Greek God's plan to bring down the Justice League. She had also discovered the Bruce had been weaseling his way around Kasnia and had not told her. Not that he really needed to tell her anything, but the fact that he had kept it from her made her think he had ulterior motives.

Was it possible that what she thought of him had been wrong? Was he really just a businessman out to make a deal?

Gods above she hoped not.

"Well that's enough thinking for today," she said aloud to the air.

She slumped down the hall, peeling off her dirty uniform as she went. As she passed her bedroom she through the article inside and made her way straight to the bathroom. It was finally time for the shower that she had been interrupted from.

The hot water poured over her tired body. She instantly felt her muscles relax and a sigh escaped her mouth. She grabbed her soap, which smelled wonderfully of jasmine, and started scrubbing off the streaks of dirt from her body. The water ran brown as she did so. When she started on her hair, she had to comb out all the small bits of debris and twigs that had gotten caught. It was tedious business, but the methodical task was soothing.

By the time she felt sufficiently clean, she barely had the will power to keep her eyes open to dry off. She wrapped a towel around her wet hair and made her way into her bedroom. This was by far her favorite room in the apartment. It had beige walls, and all it included currently was a large bed with a fluffy white comforter, billowy white curtains and a soft white rug that filled almost the entire room. It was plain, but it suited her just fine. She still wanted a desk and something else in it, but for now, she only had eyes for the bed.

She pulled a soft T-shirt over her head and picked a pair of loose fitting shorts. Undoing the towel from her head, her damp hair cascaded down in a wavy mess, but she didn't even bother to brush it. Instead, she fell onto her bed and burrowed beneath the covers.

Within seconds, she was blissfully asleep.

* * *

Someone brought to my attention in a previous chapter that Bruce does actually speak Kasnian. I completely forgot so forgive the inaccuracy. Don't forget to review!

-Peace, RAS


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: On the Other Hand…

Bruce:

Bruce stood up from his seat around the conference room table and stretched his stiff legs. They had been at it for days, back and forth over building plans, budgets and deadlines. It looked like the process would drag on forever, but it seemed as though they had finally reached a consensus. The project would be moving forward, and he could finally return to Gotham. He could not have been more relieved.

The room was abuzz with excitement and conversation. The rest of the men and women in the room were all chattering, some of them stopping to shake his hand and try to make small talk. This kind of stuff was not usually his realm of expertise. He found the endless need for pleasantries tedious and altogether exhausting. It was usually another board member that was responsible for this kind of thing while he called the shots from behind the scenes.

However, this was a special case, something he felt compelled to see through until the end. Personally. This was both for his sake as well as for that of a certain woman…

He had clearly seen the accusing look in Diana's eyes when he had made his appearance on the airfield almost a week ago. She had been second guessing his motivations for pursuing this kind of project, and had most likely drawn unflattering conclusions.

Right now, all he wanted was to prove her wrong, to prove that this had actually all been for her sake. He knew Audrey and Kasnia's future was important to the Amazon, and he wanted to make sure nothing went array. He supposed that included acting like the Bruce Wayne the rest of the world thought he was, charismatic and outspoken. So he put on a smile and his best business man face and indulged the rest of the Kasnian council's need for conversation. After some time, it seemed as if he were in the clear. Most of the people had cleared out of the room, so he collected his papers with the intention of bolting.

Igor had other plans however.

"Ey, Mr. Vayne! I sink ze success of zis meeting calls for a drink, don't you?" He shook Bruce's hand vigorously and beamed.

"Please Igor, you can call me Bruce. I'm afraid however that I am not much of a drinker." It wasn't a lie. He hadn't really had more than a few sips of wine or champagne here and there for years. Alcohol slowed his senses and with his paranoid personality, that only spelled disaster.

"Eh? No drinking? Nonsense! I 'ave ze finest vodka collection in all of Kasnia! You vill try et, and you vill swear back onto drink!" Igor bellowed.

"Yes Bruce, you must join us. None of this would have been possible if it wasn't for you," Audrey chimed in.

"Plus you have yet to experience a true Kasnian party," one of the remaining members pointed out.

"Zhen it is decided. Come, ve vill ride togeser."

With that, Igor clamped his hand firmly on Bruce's shoulder and began steering him towards the door. Generally, he would never have allowed this to transpire. But after the hours of being seated in that chair, a drink did not sound half bad.

Plus, Bruce could tell Igor was not going to take no for an answer.

Without protest, he allowed himself to be guided from the room and found that half of Kasina's politicians were already waiting outside, ready to go.

 _Sometime later…_

Dear God he was drunk.

After they had arrived at Igor's home, the Kasnian's had instantly began pumping him full of drink. The vodka was delicious, but it had only been a matter of time before various varieties of alcohol made their appearance. This included a traditional Kasnian drink that Bruce swore was literally pure alcohol. After that he hadn't really been able to keep track of what was in his glass.

In all honesty though, he couldn't say that he was angry about that fact. In fact, he was actually having…fun?

This was the first time in ages that he had felt relaxed and like his mind was not running a million miles a minute. He even felt at ease in the large crowd that was gathered inside of Igor's billiard room. He spoke easily with the other guests and even engaged in a game of darts. Which he won naturally.

If only Diana could see him now. He shook the thought from his head quickly. Thinking of her in the state he was in was not in either of their best interests. To distract himself, he continued to drift from conversation to conversation, from drink to drink.

Eventually he found himself sitting in a large armchair and observing the scene in front of him. He casually swirled a glass of the traditional drink he had taken such a liking to, quietly deciding to purchase some for Wayne Manor when he returned.

His thoughts were interrupted Igor who sat across from him on the couch. He was as drunk, if not drunker, than he was.

"Eyy Bruce! You seem to be aving' a good time no?" Igor basically yelled in his direction, lifting his glass with a cocked eyebrow. Bruce smiled and nodded.

"And you zaid you never drank!" Igor accused jokingly.

"I didn't say that I _never_ drink," Bruce corrected, "I have to sip something at my parties and business gatherings. It's simply been a long time."

"Ahh yes, ze legendary Wayne Manor parties. I ave' heard much about zhem. How does my little get togezer compare?" Igor ask with a cocked brow.

"I am afraid Igor, that this is quite tame in comparison," Bruce answered jokingly, taking another sip from his glass. At that, Igor smirked. Bruce could see a mischievous flicker in the older man's eyes and he suddenly wished he hadn't said anything at all.

"Are you boys talking about _parties_ ," an eavesdropping, red faced Audrey cried , "Oh Mr. Wayne you _must_ have one to celebrate our success! " She plopped herself down beside Igor and looked at him expectantly.

"I do not know Your Majesty…I sink' our friend Mr. Vayne has been out of ze game for too long…" Igor said shaking his head in mock skepticism to hide his obvious challenge.

Bruce was proud to say that he was not often at a loss of what to do. In in this case however, he found his mind jumbled as he weighed his options. Igor was right, he had not thrown a famous Wayne party for years. He no longer had time and there was little occasion in his stark life that called for one. In addition, throwing one now in the midst of all the speculation and controversy over his partnership with Kasnia would place him even further into the center of media attention, something he tried to avoid like the plague.

On the other hand, what a better way to further direct away suspicion from his "extracurricular" activities as Batman. A Bruce Wayne party would show that he was still the same playboy, businessman billionaire the world believed him to be. And then there was always the chance that _she_ would be there…that he could show her that he could be human to. But that was beside the point...the benefits outweighed the consequences regardless if whether a certain Themysciran showed or not. Of course if she did it…knock it off Bruce. Plus he could not let Igor's challenge go unmet. He _never_ shied away from a challenge.

He looked up at the expecting faces of Igor and Audrey.

"A party is what you want? Well then it's a party you shall have."

Audrey and Igor rejoiced, and within minutes, the entirety of Igor's guests had all been invited as well.

Bruce sat quietly on the couch staring into the bottom of his empty glass. He had a gut feeling he would regret this decision. And Bruce Wayne's gut feelings were never wrong.

Diana:

 _Some weeks later…_

"Oh Diana, you HAVE to come tonight!" Audrey exclaimed, " This is the first time I have been able to go to a party that wasn't just about politics in ages!"

Diana was careful not to look at the little blonde woman in case she was met with a puppy-dog face Hades himself could not resist. She wanted to go to Bruce's celebration, but she was afraid. Not of what might happen, but of what she feared wouldn't happen.

"I don't know Audrey, parties really aren't my thing," she whispered looking out the window of the black car. They were driving through Gotham to reach the fashionable neighborhood that Audrey insisted had the best gowns for the occasion.

"Diana, from a former Princess to a current one, you have got to live a little! I mean, when is the last time you actually did something fun?" Audrey huffed. The Amazon did not reply.

"You know I bet the last time you went out was with me in Paris all that time ago."

"You might be right about that. But I was so mortified after it that I never went out again" Diana teased. She recalled all too clearly the battle with Vandal Savage that had ensued and the dread she had felt for her friend. Audrey scoffed and crossed her arms in defiance. Diana just smiled and kept looking out the window.

Gotham was a beautiful city. She had never had the opportunity to really see it for what it was since she had only been here when Joker or some alien was trying to destroy it all. The buildings were austere but graceful and even the gray skies and pale sunlight cast a mysterious glow on everything it touched. This was his dominion. His kingdom. And she felt like a stranger in it.

Audrey went on to describe how beautiful she had heard that Wayne manor was and all the deep pockets and eligible bachelors that would be attending that night. Including Mr. Bruce Wayne himself. Diana stiffened as his name left her friend's mouth.

"They say he has a new girlfriend every week," Audrey placed heavy emphasis on the word 'every', "And yet that doesn't stop woman from throwing themselves at him! I mean he's gorgeous! But if all he wants is a one night stand and then you're history then what's the point? I don't think it's worth it."

Diana only nodded and played it off as if she didn't care, but in her mind, there was turmoil. She could not deny that she had feelings for him. When he was around, she felt whole, grounded and complete. When he was away, she felt unsure, and flighty, like she was missing something but she could not remember what. These feelings had been there for a long time, she knew that. After his one month disappearance, she had tried to put it from her mind and dismiss is as a silly crush. But as soon as she lay eyes on him again after so many weeks she knew it was more than that. The few days they spent working together in Kasnia had only fortified these conclusions and made her question if maybe he felt the same way. On more than one occasion there had been touches that lingered just a moment longer than necessary, or a look that held more weight than was perhaps intended. She already felt heat rising to her face as she recalled those moments.

Thinking about it now, Diana recalled how she had felt completely content in those brief moments because for those few seconds, she allowed herself to hope that he was letting down his walls to her. But just as soon as the thoughts crossed her mind, he acted like nothing had happened, like they hadn't shared those moments. She had felt oddly hurt and betrayed by his attitude.

She wanted to be stubborn and stick it to the man by not going to his party tonight, just to get back at him for making her feel that way. She could easily come up with some grand story involving saving the world from another maniac and simply not go.

On the other hand, perhaps the best thing to do was to go to the party, and completely blow him out of the water. She could find a dress that would show him exactly what he was missing and her presence there would show him that she wasn't afraid of him and how he made her feel. She could show him just how much she lo-

"We're here!" Audrey's shrill voice shattered that final, dangerous thought that she had almost allowed to materialize in her brain. It had been a close one, and she vowed to be agreeable toward Audrey for the rest of outing as a silent thank you for stopping her from crossing that point of no return.

But the moment that Diana stepped out of the sleek black limo, she wanted nothing more than to swallow her words. As her eyes surveyed their destination, she knew instantly she could never afford anything from such a place, even if she remained active in the league until her last breath.

"Audrey, there is no way I will ever be able to get a dress here."

"Oh so you are coming," the smaller woman smirked putting her hands on her hips in victory, "Well it just so happens that the designer of these lovely dresses is a Kasnian national. She contacted me some time ago saying that if I ever found myself in Gotham, she would honored to supply me with a dress for the evening. She gets publicity, and I get a night in free gown. Oh, and did I mention that she is a HUGE fan of yours! I'm sure you two will be able to work something out." Without even waiting for a response from a somewhat dumbstruck Amazon, Audrey turned on her heels and waltzed through the door.

"Great Hera give me strength," Diana murmured as she followed Audrey to her doom.

Sorry for the late update, and the short chapter. I've been crazy busy at school…Let me know what you guys think!

-Peace, DAS


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Goddammit Bruce

 **Bruce** :

Bruce finished adjusting his black bow tie and stared at himself long and hard in the mirror. He sure looked the part that he was meant to play tonight, but that didn't mean he wanted to.

The morning following Igor's little get together, Bruce had awoken with not only a headache to end all headaches, but also with an overwhelming sense of regret. He had willing let himself be convinced to throw a party _and_ had agreed to do so mostly out of pride and, as he had come to realize, the hope that one person in particular would come. All the other reasons he told himself as to why he had agreed, he knew to be excuses. Bruce Wayne never made excuses, especially for himself. So he had been forced to come to terms with his own momentary and exceptionally rare lapse in judgment, which pained him greatly.

A quiet knock at the door broke him from his revere.

"Master Wayne?" Alfred's somewhat muffled voice said from the other side of his bedroom door.

"Come in Alfred."

The Butler entered with his usual calm and stern demeanor that he always wore. The several weeks of none stop party planning that Bruce had put him through had done little to shake the old man's resolve.

"You are looking very well this evening sir, but may I remind you that your date for this evening still needs her pumpkin to bring her to the ball?"

Bruce turned away from Alfred pretending to readjust his tie so the Butler would not see him cringe at the reminder. Oh yeah, that.

Bruce gave an internal sigh. He had completely forgotten about that little detail. This so called "date" was the daughter of a green energy mogul whom he had consulted with for the Kasnian energy project. Her father was an ambitious man, always looking for new ways to get ahead in the world. This projecy had put the illustrious Bruce Wayne within his grasp and there was no way he would have passed up such an opportunity. So naturally, the man had asked if Bruce would take his young, and _single_ , daughter out on the town one evening, no doubt so she could rub shoulders with some of the world's finest, and wealthiest business people all while draped over his arm. Bruce had begrudgingly accepted, mostly because he needed to keep the man on his side if the Kasnian deal was to go smoothly.

The other reason he agreed was because the girls' presence would help him put on airs. The billionaire, playboy Bruce Wayne the world knew could never be caught dead at an event without some slinky socialite handing off of his arm. The chosen lady of the evening was usually some well known actress or model. But some, as in this case, were simply the daughters of wealthy investors. They were all drawn to his "mystery" and wanted to know what it was like to spend the evening with Bruce Wayne. Regardless, they were all too caught up in their fantasy to ever notice that he really had no interest in them at all. He had mastered the ability to nod and seem enthralled while actually being somewhere else.

And contrary to popular belief he rarely slept with them. At least, he hadn't done so in ages. It wasn't that he found them completely unattractive, but they didn't have _her_ hair, _her_ eyes or _her_ smile….

Dammit Bruce, stop that. Those were dangerous thoughts to be having.

Yes Diana had RSVP'd to the event, much to his surprise. But there was always the possibility that she would not show. And even if she did, she would be seeing the façade he showed to the rest of the world, one that she perhaps would not like or would make her think differently of him. Not to mention the fact that he would have another woman in tow. That was sure not to count in his favor.

He was dreading the moment that she would appear, beautiful, tall, and confident with those piercing blue eyes and those endless legs... Oh who was he kidding? It would be the highlight of his night of she came, and the biggest let down if she didn't. He wasn't sure he was prepared to deal with either of those scenarios.

He was not sure that he was ready to fully accept and confront the feelings that Diana stirred in his cold heart, and this coming evening had the potential to make it unavoidable. He did not know if he was ready to let her in, to put himself in a position to be hurt again. But he also knew how uncaring he came off and that it was only a matter of time before she would give up and move on and his chance at being happy would disappear. She was a beautiful, intelligent and strong woman after all who could have anyone she wanted, and any man would be lucky to be with her.

"I'm ready Alfred" he said reluctantly as he gave himself one last once over, adjusting his tie once more for good measure.

"What car will we be taking sir?"

"Get the Rolls out, I'm feeling flashy this evening," Alfred nodded and turned to go when Bruce suddenly added, "Oh, and Alfred?"

"Yes Master Wayne?"

"Would you mind putting some ice and a bottle of Bourbon in the back for me?" If he was going to put himself through the agony of this evening, he might as well do it good and drunk. It was totally uncharacteristic of course, but with his track record over the previous few weeks of acting out of character, he could not bring himself to care.

"Of course Master Wayne." The Butler stated giving a curt bow before turning and heading out the door.

Bruce did not miss the obvious amusement in Alfred's voice.

 **Diana** :

"Are you sure this isn't too much Audrey? I think…"

"Oh stop fussing Di, you look beautiful!" Audrey said, nudging her playfully as they descended the hotel's lobby stairs to their waiting car.

The day she and Audrey had spent was unlike any Diana had ever experienced. As soon as the designer had seen the Queen of Kasnia and Wonder Woman walk through her doors, she had almost keeled over. She excitedly ushered them inside and simultaneously ushered out a few perusing customers claiming that she was closed and they could come back and waste her time another day.

Almost right off the bat, Diana liked her. Nadia was somewhat older, her dark hair streaked with a few graying hairs, but her energy and fire were that of young woman in her prime. She was authoritative, but kind, strong but gentle. She reminded Diana of her mother.

Nadia had wasted no time at all and immediately began pulling every evening gown she could find. Every single one was more beautiful than the one before it and Diana couldn't help but watch in quiet admiration. But just as soon as the stern woman had pulled one gown out she would scoff and said it would not do and tossed it aside. It took ages before Nadia seemed pleased with her selections for the two women to try on.

Audrey had gone first and had naturally looked fantastic in everything. Nadia beamed a little brighter with each dress Audrey tried and loved. Every single gown could have worked for the blonde, but Audrey finally decided on a slinky silver number that did her body the most justice.

Then it was Diana's turn, but before she could pick her first gown to try on, Nadia had stopped her and picked a gown off the rack herself. Handing it to Diana Nadia had whispered to her, "Try zis first my dear, zit' is quite befitting someone such as yourself." And she had been very right.

The dress was vaguely reminiscent of the gowns in Ancient Greece with its light airy feel and draping, but with its own modern feel. Diana had surprised at how much she liked it considering the plunging neckline, open back and the daring slit up the leg that left her feeling more exposed then when she wore her uniform. But the daring cut of the dress gave her a strange sense of confidence. Confidence that she would be able to face whatever Bruce and his party could throw at her. It had been an immediate yes.

She and Audrey had spent the rest of the day doing more girly things than Diana had done in an entire lifetime. After dresses, they need shoes, then they needed their nails done and then this and then that. By the time they were finally finished and Diana had a chance to look at the finished product, she was blown away.

Her long black hair was pinned to one side giving a generous view of the dress' open back. The kohl around her eyes made them stand out like never before and the shimmery gloss on her lips made them appear as Audrey had put it "pouty". Yes it was overall very pleasing, and she felt on top of the world.

Yet now, as she and Audrey climbed into the car that would deliver them to _his_ immediate vicinity, she felt that confidence wavering. It didn't help that she and the Queen had attracted several thoroughly perusing stares that she felt had lingered too long in places they should not have. It made her question whether the dress was too exposed, or if it made her seem desperate for attention. That was the last thing she wanted people, especially Bruce, to think.

"I really don't know why you are so anxious, it's just a party! Well I shouldn't say that, its Bruce Wayne's party, which means it will definitely be a blast!" Audrey said excitedly as the car pulled away from the curb, bringing Diana ever closer to her doom.

At the mention of his name, Diana felt her stomach give an uncomfortable clench. Audrey must have noticed, because then suddenly a bottle of alcohol suspiciously materialized.

A mischievous look crossed the blonde's features, "Perhaps a drink may help?"

"I think it's best I don't…"

"Nonsense. A drink will ease these nerves of yours!" Audrey said, cutting Diana off as she began pouring a daunting amount of the liquid into a glass. She then added a splash of what looked like cranberry juice and handed it to the Amazon before making one for herself.

Diana had never been one for drinking, it dulled the senses and slowed her down. But she supposed one couldn't do much harm. She accepted the glass and took a conservative sip of the concoction. It was so strong that she outwardly cringed which made Audrey laugh and Diana flush with both embarrassment and pain. The liquid burned all the way down her throat but once the sensation had subsided, a not altogether unpleasant warmth settled in her stomach that radiated outward.

"So what is with all this anxiety tonight? I would think you'd enjoy the chance to relax a little." Audrey asked after sipping her own drink and settling into her seat.

To buy herself some time to come up with an answer to the question, Diana took a long sip of her own drink, which simply turned into her draining her glass.

"Oh my, so there must be a big reason," Audrey observed with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. The blonde quickly refilled Diana's glass, and this time, the Amazon did not object.

"It's really nothing, I just feel like there is a lot riding on this evening…for Kasnia I mean. And…diplomatic things?" It was the best she could come up with.

"Diana I admire you for a lot of things, but your lying skills are not one of them," Audrey said before leaning in and saying in a lower voice, "Is it about a man?"

"What? No!" Diana answered too quickly which just caused Audrey to smile and lean in further.

"So it _is_ a man. Oh my gosh! Is he going to be there tonight? Does he know you will be there? Has anything ever happened between you two?" Audrey fired at her.

Diana sighed. She knew she could not hide things like this from Audrey forever, but she just was not ready to deal with it herself, let alone explain them to someone else. No matter what she felt towards him, every time she took a step forward, he would take one back. That probably meant he was not interested in her like that and she was setting herself up for something painful. Unfortunately for her, she had come to that conclusion after the Dark Knight stole heart.

The most likely scenario was that nothing would happen tonight, and that saddened her greatly. Looking down into her glass she slowly swirled its contents contemplating how to answer Audrey's barrage of questions.

She finally settled on, "It's very complicated right now Audrey…perhaps we should leave it at that…"

Audrey regarded her evenly for a moment, deciding whether to push the subject, then surprisingly said, "You are right, tonight is for fun! Finish that drink and we really get this party started!"

Diana released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. That had been easy…for now at least. Taking Audrey's suggestion, Diana quickly finished her second drink which she realized had gone down much easier than the first. Whether or not that was a good thing, she was not sure.

In an instant another glass took the place of the one that had just been there and the rest of that drink also disappeared. By the end of that one Diana was beginning to feel the familiar fuzz in her head that she had only experienced on a few previous occasions. This time however, the fuzz was filling the space that had been filled with thoughts of how the evening would go, so this time Diana welcomed it.

As the car wound its way through the streets of Gotham toward Wayne Manor, Diana lost count of the glasses that made their way into her hand. She and Audrey became increasingly flushed and even a little giggly. They chatted and laughed until Diana had all but forgotten her impending doom.

But as soon as Diana felt the car slowly come to a stop and the heard the driver's door open, she felt the weight of reality settle back on her shoulders. The door opened and Audrey climbed out first and was enveloped in a storm of flashing lights from the press's cameras.

'Deep breath Diana, you can do this.' she thought to herself. And with that, she stepped from car and was swept away into the night by a flurry of camera flashes and security guards.

Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday and New Year! I put the links to what Diana and Audrey's dresses look like in my profile in case you are a visual person and like having an image. Don't forget to review!

-Peace, DAS


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